Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-06-26
MARTINS FERRY.

what street IL thlsy'
Park street, SIR"
"well suppose l go out this way, where
will | striker"
Sank Moore's house, SIR"
"Well, what street is this other one, run
ming the other wayr"
THAT is Fifth street, sir"
''Where will it take meY"
"If you 90 up this way you'll strike the
Walnut Grove, or else run over the hank
into the run, SIR
"well, suppose / go the other way"
"You'l come up with q round turn in
Hoyle's field"
What in the longest street in town."
There amt any, sir. They all have an
end, and that end is no place, and in no
place"
"Well, ] thought n much. have
walked all over this place, and every once
in awhile / came to q place where l must
either turn round and go back, or climb q
wire fence, or 90 through some ones
house. / wonder very much that the peo-
pie of as prosperous a town as this do not
straighten out the streets, open the ends,
and indicate TO visitors and themselves
that they have some pride in the appear
ance of things, and some little thought
for the people who do not live on Wash
ington or Hanover streets. / notice that
every man who takes a notion 10 make an
addition to the town, does so without the
slightest consideration for anything but
how he may arrange his ground 80 = 10
get the greatest number OF lots out Of II.
The people who make additions have no
respect for existing streets, and do not
plat their additions no as 10 conform In
general direction, or extent, with the parts
Of town already plated.
"Well, I've lived here all my life, and
my father before me, and / can say TINT
during my fifty years, il has always been
so, and / suppose it always will he. IL any
one .would say ought against
this arrangement Of things, and the allow
ing Of people 10 do as they please, he would
be called n crank, or fanatic, Or n one
idea'ed' man. | was away from home
once, and saw a town which had straight
streets, and clean alleys, and the lots were
all one size on each street, &c, but IL never
occurred to me that the idea could be up
piled TO Martins Ferry. | always sup.
posed it was as God intended IL To he, and
the rest Of the people must thirk il would
be sacrilege to change the present order Of
things, for no one has ever done IL or at
tempted to do it"
See here my man, you say you are 80
years old; did you ever hear Of q plating
commission ?'
well, no;--I've heard OF such q thing
as q street commissioners, but haven't
seen q for a long tine. They say there
Ia no money in the street fund, and that Il
is no use for him TO hunt up work while
there il no money"
81 am not surprised to learn that there
is no money in the street fund, and I pre-
dict that as long as thing are allowed 70 20
on ~ they do now, there never will be any.
II your streets were straight and put in
line and into some seryicable condition.
this everlasting drain on the street fund,
caused by doing things over time and
again and no permanent good coming Of
it all, would be stopped, and the money
might be turned into permanent improve
ments." .
well, say, mister; I feel a kind of cur
iosity to know more about that commission
you were talking about a few minutes
ago."
"All right; let me see,-we have walked
round 70 Fourth street while we've been
talking; another Of these streets with no
hole in the upper ~end-just sit down here
on this pile Of curbing, which has been
laying here on top of ground several
months, and il liable 70 be here this time
next year, and III do my best 10 explain
il 70 you-the commission I mean-not
why the curb lies here to mar the
looks Of the place. In the first
place, the statutes Of the State provides
for q body consisting Of Eve citizene, and
an engineer, appointed by council, to be
known a. the plating commission. These
citizens serve without pay except the engi-
and he need not be q very expensive
either, for anyone who who 10 NOT
blind and can look through q three Legged
telescope can do the work. The business
of this commission II 10 zee that new streets
and additions are in conformity with those
parts Of town already established. For
example take the BrideDstein tract below
town. You may not get q street through
that place fOr ten years, but still the CON-
mission should survey the tract, and de-
eide where the streets should be put in
time to come, 50 they would connect In
straight lines, and not in IS degree angles
with the streets in the Garden Spot. When
the direction, width and number Of tbese
streets are established, the law requires
that Mr.. 3, when be lays out his land
shall do 50 in accordance with the rules e.
tablished by the commission, and recorded
by them Do you sees"
"Oh yes, I catch the drih. It Is all
plain Il me now. II there had been such
q commission twenty-five yean ago, / sup
pose 5th street, for instances, would run IN